The 6th and final day of the 2023 AFCON qualifiers continues. Three matches were scheduled for Sunday. In Group A, Nigeria held their nerve to inflict a heavy defeat on Sao Tome and Principe, with Victor Osimhen scoring a hat-trick. Gambia, however, put in the finest performance of the evening. Facing Congo, the Scorpions snatched qualification in the dying minutes.
Gambia off to Côte d'Ivoire
Huge disappointment for Congo's Diables Rouges. They narrowly missed out on qualifying against Gambia. It all came down to the last minute. In Marrakech, the Gambians snatched a draw to fly to Côte d'Ivoire.Congo came very close to pulling off an upset. G. Makouta opened the scoring in the 30th minute. Completely disorientated, the Gambians conceded a second goal in first-half stoppage time from the penalty spot. Ganvoula M'Boussy took the spot-kick. The Congolese lead 2-0 at the break. Determined, the Scorpions still managed to reduce the gap thanks to Minteh (79). Badamosi scored the decisive goal in the 90th minute to put his country (10pts) in second place in Group G ahead of Congo (7 pts). Mali finish top with 15 points. South Sudan came last with just 3 points.
Nigeria smash Sao Tomé
Nigeria have already qualified for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, and are finishing the group phase in style. In their final Group A match, the Super Eagles thrashed Sao Tome and Principe 6-0. Victor Osimhen scored a hat-trick (13th, 69th and 79th). This was the Napoli striker's 10th goal in these qualifiers. Lookman (27th), Awoniyi (51st) and Chukueze scored Nigeria's other goals, leaving the Super Eagles top of the group with 15 points, well ahead of Guinea-Bissau (10 pts), Sierra Leone (5 pts) and Sao Tome and Principe (1 pt).
Togo, a victory for honor
Already eliminated, Togo salvaged some honor in their final Group B match of the CAN 2023 qualifiers. At home, the Eperviers (3-2) beat Cape Verde. The Blue Sharks opened the scoring in the 4th minute with a goal from K Pina. The visitors even doubled their lead a few minutes later thanks to Gilson Benchimol (20th). Denkey 40' (P) reduced the deficit before half-time. Cape Verde returned to the locker room with a clear advantage.
On his return, the same Denkey scored twice to equalize for Togo. Ouattara scored the winner at the end of the game (87). Togo (8 pts) finished 3rd in Group B behind Burkina Faso (11 pts) and Cape Verde (10 pts). Eswatini came last with just 3 points.
